Sunday Dec. 4, 2022
This Advent season is a time to celebrate the glorious vision of life lived in harmony and peace the world over. This is what Christmas is all about. Peace on earth, good will to all! It is about the fulfillment of the Divine dreams and visions for Creation.
The birth of Jesus, the embodiment of the Christ spirit, is about bringing those dreams to fruition. But as we know from life context, a leader can only do so much. The transformation of the social order needed to create peace cannot be accomplished by one person alone. Again, Jesus is our example. One of the first things we are told that Jesus does, according to the gospels, is to recruit disciples, helpers, followers. Making manifest the dreams of the God of Love is not something that can be done alone. At Christmas we celebrate the birth of a leader, but the effectiveness of that leader is dependent upon the followers. And today, that includes us.
I am remembering the stunning movie, “Whale Rider.” At the end of the movie, after much resistance, Pai, a teen aged girl, becomes the leader of her tribe which has fallen on difficult times. But she knows that she cannot change things for her people alone. And she declares, “My name is Paikea Apirana, and I come from a long line of chiefs stretching all the way back to the Whale Rider. I’m not a prophet, but I know that our people will keep going forward, all together, with all of our strength.”
All of our strength. Everyone together. A group effort. All needed.
The Sundays in Advent, we light a candle each week to help us mark the time until Christmas. So, this second Sunday of Advent, you are invited to light two candles, wherever you are. As you light the candles, pause a moment to think about how the light of God is being made manifest around you.
Prayer
In this season as we celebrate the glorious vision of Divine Love coming to fruition in Christ Jesus, may we look around us and see where that vision is being made manifest today. May we look for how we can be part of the community of Christ bearing witness to the joy and peace intended for all of Creation. May we offer ourselves in whatever way we can in service to the reality of God’s compassion and peace. Amen.
Lakewood United Church of Christ 